East End Eats: The Bulls Head
The Bulls Head Bar and Grill, next to the library in Bridgehampton, used to be a cozy hangout full of baseball photos called Billy's Triple Crown.
In recent years the spot has housed the coolly chic and the noisily fashionable, but its latest reincarnation seems to have recaptured some of the easygoing, dress-down atmosphere of Billy de Petris's old haunt. It's trendier, of course - this being the Hamptons, where anything mom-and-pop scatters the cellphoners in a panic.
The building has a long narrow room opening into a larger space at the back. This means its layout has remained more or less the same: a bar on the left and tables on the right looking out onto the library garden. The bar, with its soft, well-designed lighting, is particularly welcoming. Otherwise the decor is simple and unpretentious, with some nice photographs of old Bridge hampton.
Price Is Right
The Bulls Head has a nice list of beers from all over America, including something called a Brooklyn Chocolate Stout. Wines by the glass range from $4.75 to $7.75. We returned to SagPond's La Ferme Martin chardonnay, an outstanding local wine at the right price.
Prices are right for the food, too. Appetizers range from $6 to $8. Entrees are $11 for an individual pizza to $19 for a ribeye steak or a Bulls Head lobster roll.
The crisp herbed buckwheat polenta, served with gorgonzola and seasoned chopped tomatoes, was delicious. Out of the ordinary while not being outr‚, it was definitely a hit.
The steamed mussels, a special, came with a really interesting broth and were also very good. If some mussels don't open in the cooking, however, they should be removed before the plate is brought to the table.
Bright And Crunchy
We tried the grilled marinated baby octopus, which is a nice lively change to see on a menu. Evidently they come fresh from Gosman's in Montauk and are then cooked on a wood-burning grill. They are pleasantly chewy with a nice smoky flavor.
A salad of iceberg hearts with a creamy blue cheese dressing seems an old-fashioned sort of thing to offer, reminiscent of the days when "salad" was all too often a piece of iceberg lettuce, a half tomato, and a hard unpeeled slice of cucumber. But this really worked - the lettuce was bright and crunchy without being tasteless and a good blue cheese was used.
(It was listed on the menu as "creamy bleu cheese." If you want to sound really foolish, just try saying that out loud. Please, menu-makers, load your pretension-check disk before printing out menus.)
Among the entrees we tried, the roasted back ribs were meaty and tender and full of flavor and the grilled sea scallops came with an interesting saffron, pineapple, and nut basmati rice. In fact, all the dishes came with imaginative and interesting accompaniments.
The marinated tuna burger, which was served with caper aioli and fresh sprouts on a peppered brioche, was enthusiastically received and the whole fish of the day, which on this occasion was pompano, was outstanding.
Round about 9:30 p.m. on a recent Thursday evening, a mellow jazz trio struck up. We'd been hoping to catch the laid-back blues singer Cooti Stark, who is often at the Bulls Head, but these guys, Big House, made for pleasant listening, too.
The Next Shift
Until this moment the atmosphere had been casual and family-oriented - there were quite a few children eating with their parents and they were obviously welcome - but then the noise level started to rise a little, more people were at the bar, and the place started to take on a late night feel. The Bulls Head seems to take both crowds in its stride.
The Bulls Head Bar and Grill is an easy, comfortable place with imaginative food at reasonable prices. The service is good and friendly and it's the sort of casual local hangout where you can drop in without worrying about what you're wearing. Lunch is also served from Monday to Friday, an unusual choice which seems to imply that the place is aimed at yearrounders.